More kids!

This week the boys came running in announcing that there were two more baby goats in the goat house! Our oldest goat, Nettle, kidded for her fourth time. She is a pro-mama, so she was already licking and talking to her babies, then birthed her placenta a promtly ate it up! No mess to clean up for us. I have a good connection with her so I sat down next to her while she licked her babies and nuzzled me. My other milk goat, Rose, is a little less lovey, so I give her lots of space to bond with her kids, but Nettle is happy to let me be with them. Her udders were pretty full and low, which makes it harder for the new kids to latch, so I helped them get the hang of nursing. I was struck by how peaceful it is spending time with my animals. I need to remember that feeling the next time they sneak through a fence or when I struggle to trim their hooves!

Ugh, Slugs!

We have been blessed so far with very few pest problems. We get our aphids here and there but nothing terrible. But here in the cool, moist Pacific Northwest; slugs are always an issue. They can cause serious damage to our new sprouting seeds in one night. We had some tomatoes in our cold frame and Brian pulled them in when he saw some slug damage. Of course that meant bringing lots of slugs, beetles and even a snake into the house with the pots! I just know that the weather will warm up, the plants will get bigger and the slugs will be less of an issue, but right now they are driving us crazy!

We've had a pretty busy week. We had a birthday party for our two older kids (turning 11 and 8) plus some friend's kids as well. So we spent more time doing land and house clean up and cooking, and less time weeding and planting. Sunday was our day to plant and weed in the garden so we put in more beets, cabbage, zucchini and summer squash. It is that funny time of year when the sun shines and we are roasting, and then it goes behind a cloud and it feels too cold!

Here are some recent photos of baby goats, chicks and wild boys!

Kids!

We had some new goat kids born early this week. I expected our goat Rose to kid on the 15th, but the trio came a few days early. I had hoped to catch some birthing pictures with my camera, but she had her babies without us knowing! What a fun surprise. Now we are waiting for our goat Nettle to kid in a few weeks. It is a big change having to milk twice a day again. I enjoy milking but it was nice to have a little break in the goats last months pregnancy. Hopefully we can post photos soon.

We have been busy taking care of seedlings, planting potatoes, and making new garden beds. After a month of colds, the flu and travel to see family; we are ready to have a weekend to get a lot of work done. So we will be planting, planting, planting!

Buzzz

On Tuesday we picked up four new bee colonies! They were supposed to arrive Monday but due to bad weather the truck came in late. Brian picked them up at Ruhl Bee Supply on the way home from work and hived and fed the new ladies. Hopefully on Monday we can post photos of the process (I just did). Two of the hives are a type of bee that is supposedly hardier, but also not as docile as the Italian honey bees, so of course Brian got his first sting of the year!

We spent this weekend with my parents in Southern Oregon to celebrate Easter. We came bearing dozens of eggs, a huge bag of spinach, and Easter Egg radishes. It was good to see family but always stressful to leave the farm. I worry about animals getting sick or loose, or something happening to the house... Fortunately, all was well when we got home, except it is no fun to have to rush around checking on everything after spending hours in the car!

We had a very productive Spring Break, with no computer time to update the blog. We worked hard on getting the garden ready and planted a bunch of cool season crops: radishes, kale, cabbage, etc and we continued to sow peppers, eggplants, tomatoes and other warmer weather crops inside. I have often lamented how much I like clear, over spaces in our home but often our projects take over our house. Right now every available space is covered with seedlings, unless it is nice enough to put them in the sun. I can't wait for our last frost date to pass so I will have these babies out of my way!

We mainly worked on the land this past week, with Brian clearing out a scrap wood pile that has been building since we started out house. he also started tiling the bathroom floor, which is really exciting. My big milestone is that I have finished the interior plaster. All I will need to do it the lime washes on the plastered bales and some Alis (clay paint) to the cob! On to the outdoor plastering...

I got sick early this week, which slowed down what I could do. I was determined to weed the garlic, and it took me so long. Towards the end I was so tempted just to lie down in the rows and take a nap! I did rest afterward with a book, but it drives me absolutely crazy to do nothing!

For our last months of homeschooling before summer, the kids are doing ancient Greece and Rome in history. When I told the kids what we would be doing, they were so excited, you would think I said we were having ice cream for dinner! I love how different homechool kids are; they are not self-concious about diving into things. We are reading the Odyssey before bed, and our 7 year old hopes to make himself some sort of Spartan-inspired battle suit. What fun!